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| For Immediate Release:
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July 30, 2003 |
| Contact(s): | Kym Hall, 202-208-4206
Danny Smith, 202-219-1688 |
| Currituck Beach Lighthouse Decision Reached
(Washington, D.C.) – A non-profit organization that has been successfully restoring and managing a lighthouse on North Carolina’s Outer Banks for over two decades will be granted ownership of the historic structure. Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Craig Manson has upheld the decision of the review committee, and has recommended that the lighthouse be deeded by the U. S. General Services Administration to the Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, North Carolina was one of about 300 lighthouses made available to federal, state and local agencies, non-profit corporations, educational agencies, or community development organizations for education, park, recreation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. Both the non-profit Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. and the County of Currituck Board of Supervisors forwarded applications for ownership of lighthouse in February 2003. The National Park Service Review Committee rated the two applications in March 2003. It recommended that Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. be awarded the lighthouse. Currituck County appealed that decision and requested a review. The Lighthouse Preservation Act states that the final decision on the disposition of the lighthouse rests with the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary delegated that responsibility to Assistant Secretary Manson. Manson attempted to bring the two parties together to develop a cooperative approach to the management of the lighthouse, but it became apparent that an agreement was unlikely. No further appeals are permitted.
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA ™ The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Editors/Producers Note: Complete text of the Assistant Secretary’s decision is attached.
"North Carolina has few symbols like her lighthouses. From the majestic coastal towers at Cape Hatteras, Bodie Island, Currituck Beach and Cape Lookout to the more demure lights at Ocracoke, Bald Head Island and Price's Creek, the eight sentinels of our shores are among the bestknown and mostloved treasures. But the lighthouses still standing along the North Carolina coast are but a few of the beacons that once marked the nighttime landscape. Nearly thirty other lighthouses and light vessels as well as dozens of smaller aids to navigation that once marked the state's coastline have been lost to time, neglect and warfare. Lighthouses played a significant role in the early development of eastern North Carolina. Unlike her colonial counterparts, the state lacked a safe deepwater harbor. Instead, ships had to negotiate the constantly changing inlets and a maze of shifting shoals and sandbars. As early as 1715, state officials had already begun to mark the channels at Ocracoke Inlet in an effort to improve commerce, but it was clear much more needed to be done. Shortly after the American Revolution, the N.C. General Assembly moved to construct lighthouses marking the inlet at Ocracoke and the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the two principal ports at the time. In 1789, work began on a lighthouse at Smith Island, also known as Bald Head Island, at the mouth of the river, and plans were also underway to build an Ocracoke lighthouse. The same year, the federal government assumed control of all maritime aids to navigation in the country. North Carolina officials readily agreed to pass to another governing body the daunting task of marking more than three hundred miles of ocean coastline and thousands of miles of inland shores. Building lighthouses was an expensive proposition for new states and the problems soon became a federal concern. . . . With the principal promontories and navigation routes marked, federal officials next turned their attention to other problem areas. The portion of the Outer Banks from Cape Hatteras north to the Virginia border lacked any navigational aids. In 1836, a survey report recommended construction of a lighthouse on Bodie Island, south of Nags Head. Although it was agreed a light was needed, it took more than ten years before the tower was erected in 1848. Even then the lighthouse was beset by problems. Lacking a proper foundation, the tower soon began to tilt, fouling the delicate mechanism that rotated the beacon and rendering the light almost useless within ten years. The 1850s witnessed even greater attention on North Carolina's lighthouses. Virtually all of the coastal lights were refitted with state-of-the-art Fresnel lenses and painted to increase their visibility. Two of the coastal towers -- Cape Lookout and Bodie Island -- were replaced with new lighthouses, and the Cape Hatteras light was boosted from ninety to one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. . . . By the end of the 1850s, North Carolina's navigation system was at its peak. Tall, coastal towers guided oceangoing ships, while smaller interior lighthouses, lightships, and screw-pile lights guided traffic along the sounds and rivers. But the dawn of the Civil War turned into the twilight of the early Tar Heel lights. The winds of war would soon unravel more than a half-century of effort as the lights became strategic objectives. The Union naval blockade of the South forced Confederate planners to extinguish and often destroy the lighthouses they had lobbied so hard for in the halls of Congress. The lights did little to benefit the Southern cause and destroying them helped hinder Union commercial and military traffic. The effects on the beacons were devastating. Confederate forces destroyed the lighthouse at Bodie Island and on Bogue Banks, along with most of the lights along the Cape Fear River. They removed or vandalized the Fresnel lenses from Cape Hatteras to Cape Fear and damaged or destroyed all of the lightships. Although Union engineers were able to replace the lenses, the damage was done. Gone was a generation of lights and lightships. Soon to follow was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was so badly damaged by a halfcentury of wind erosion to its foundation that a replacement was erected in 1870 and the original 1803 tower destroyed. . . ." From Bearings The Atlantic Coastline: The Lost Lights, by Thomas Yocum, as it appeared at http://coastalguide.com/bearings/lostlights.htm, reprinted from Our State magazine, May 1999. This matter concerns one of those most-loved North Carolina treasures: the historic light station at Corolla village (36 22 36 N, 75 49 51 W) known as the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. Perhaps ironically emblematic of the great love North Carolinians have for lighthouses, two applicants vie amid much acrimony, controversy, hyperbole, and vitriol for the right to acquire the lighthouse under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, Pub.L. 106-355, 2, Oct 24, 2000, 114 Stat. 1675, codified at 16 U.S.C. 470w7 et seq. The Lighthouse As noted by historian Yocum, the forces of nature and the Civil War left the North Carolina coast without the significant light coverage it had gained by the 1850's. By 1870, efforts were underway to rectify this situation. A new lighthouse replaced the 1802 Cape Hatteras structure in 1870. The Bodie Island lighthouse, completed in 1848 and destroyed during the war, was replaced in 1872. The remaining darkness was between Bodie Island and Cape Henry, Virginia. In 1873, construction began on a lighthouse at the Whaleshead settlement adjacent to Currituck Sound. This construction was completed in 1875 and in December of that year, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse became operational. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is a first-order lighthouse (as are Cape Hatteras and Bodie Island), meaning that it has the largest size Fresnel lens. It stands 163 feet high and is constructed of more than one million bricks. Unlike the other lighthouses on North Carolina_s Outer Banks, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse was left unpainted. The United States Coast Guard automated the Currituck light in 1939 and vacated the property that same year (although some of the property was utilized during World War II). The lighthouse remains today an active aid to navigation and for a number of years was the only lighthouse along the Outer Banks open to the public. It is the only lighthouse in North Carolina still housed in its original structure. It is one of only a dozen lighthouses nationwide with an original Fresnel lens still in use. In 1973, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The County and the Community Currituck County, the most northeastern county in North Carolina, is older than the United States and, in fact, older than the state of North Carolina. Established in 1668, it was one of the five original ports for North Carolina and one of the original counties. The word "Currituck" in the Algonquian Indian language means "The Land of the Wild Goose." Currituck County is one of the fastest growing counties in North Carolina (U.S. Census 2002 pop. est. 19,623). The mainland of the County connects the coastline of northeastern North Carolina with a peninsula that is bounded on the west by the North River, on the south by the Albemarle Sound and on the east by the Currituck Sound. Currituck County's northern beach strand separates Currituck Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. The county's beaches attract millions of vacationers each year. The county is governed by a fivemember board of commissioners, which hires a county manager as the chief operating officer of the county government. Prominently displayed on the county seal is a goose in flight as well as the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. The lighthouse is in the community of Corolla, the northernmost accessible Outer Banks community in North Carolina. Corolla is at the site of the Whalehead settlement, and according to some sources, the name Whalehead was used interchangeably with Corolla until the mid-1970's. This village was essentially isolated until the state extended Highway 12 north from the Dare County line in 1984. The lighthouse complex along with the Whalehead Club forms the core of the community. Built in the 1920_s by industrialist Edward C. Knight, the Whalehead Club was one of several hunt clubs in Currituck County. In October 1992, the county purchased the club and 28.5 acres of adjacent land and established the Whalehead Preservation Trust. Transfer of Lighthouses The Statute In 2000, Congress amended the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 by adding provisions known as the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA). NHLPA authorizes the disposal of historic lighthouses and stations. The Act recognizes the cultural, recreational, and educational value associated with these historic resources by allowing lighthouse properties to be transferred at no cost to federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit corporations and community development organizations for park and recreation, cultural and historic, and educational uses. For the first time, nonprofit entities are on equal footing with federal agencies and other public bodies to obtain historic lighthouse properties. The statute contemplates a multiagency process in the disposition of lighthouses. The Coast Guard identifies and reports excess light stations to the General Services Administration (GSA). Eligible lighthouses and stations will be announced by GSA through a Notice of Availability, sent directly to interested parties, published in local newspapers and posted on the Internet. The Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service (NPS), issues applications to interested parties. NPS reviews and evaluates applicants and selects a grantee. GSA then develops and executes conveyance documents. In applying for the property, grantees agree to rehabilitate the lighthouse in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, to maintain the property in perpetuity, to allow Coast Guard access to the navigation aid, and to provide regular public access to the property. A group's financial ability to maintain the historic light station and adhere to historic covenants and other terms and conditions of the transfer will be given significant consideration in the review process. In the event no new acceptable steward is found, the act authorizes the sale of the property by GSA. Disposition of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse The Coast Guard determined the Currituck Beach Lighthouse to be excess in 2001. It was among the first lighthouses to be excessed after the passage of NHLPA. NPS included Currituck in a pilot program under NHLPA. The intent of the pilot program was to transfer properties where there was an existing organization involved in preserving a lighthouse and no competing applications were expected. Three parties expressed interest in the Currituck light: Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. (OBC), a non-profit group which had restored the lighthouse beginning in the 1980's; the county of Currituck; and the State of North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. The National Park Service over many months made considerable efforts to have the three parties cooperate with respect to acquisition of the lighthouse. OBC was in actual possession of the lighthouse under the terms of a twenty year lease with the United States and had spent more than a million dollars restoring the lighthouse and the keeper's house. The state owns the property surrounding the lighthouse and had leased that property to OBC for a term of fifty years. The county owns the Whalehead Club property adjacent to the stateowned property. Despite the obvious possibilities, the efforts at a collaboration among the parties failed. Because of the apparent controversy, the Currituck light was withdrawn from the pilot program and placed on the normal competitive track. NPS sent applications to the parties on November 4, 2002. Completed applications were due on and received prior to February 7, 2003, from Currituck County and OBC. A panel of four NPS employees convened on March 5, 2003, to evaluate the applications. The panelists each scored the applications on a 100-point scale in the following categories: Preservation & Maintenance; Use; Financial; and Management. Out of a possible 400 points, the panel scored OBC at 388 and the county at 132. The average score for OBC was 97 and for the county, 33. As required by NHLPA, the panel consulted with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for North Carolina. The SHPO was provided with both applications. The SHPO informed NPS of his recommendation that the lighthouse be transferred to OBC. On March 20, 2003, the NPS Acting Associate Director for Cultural Resources forwarded to the NPS Director the panel's recommendation. That same day, the Director forwarded the recommendation to the DOI Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. The Assistant Secretary transmitted the panel's recommendation to the parties on April 4, 2003, and announced that the county would have fifteen days to request a de novo review of the panel's recommendation. The county then made such a request, accompanied by a supporting memorandum, on April 17, 2003. The Assistant Secretary announced that the de novo review would result in a decision not later than June 2, 2003. However, on May 30, 2003, information was received in the office of the Assistant Secretary that the parties might be interested in discussing a cooperative agreement. Therefore, the time for decision on review was extended by ten days to permit the parties to attempt an agreement. On June 4, 2003, staff members in the office of the Assistant Secretary facilitated a telephonic meeting between the parties. Staff reported to the Assistant Secretary on the substance and tenor of the meeting. Having considered the report of the meeting, the Assistant Secretary determined that agreement between the parties was not likely in the near term. Nonetheless, the Assistant Secretary's office remained in contact with both parties. Although both parties eventually agreed to meet and discuss other aspects of managing the lighthouse, neither party demonstrated any willingness to change its basic position that it should own the lighthouse. On July 17, 2003, the Assistant Secretary determined to make a last attempt at facilitating a collaborative approach to ownership of the lighthouse and preservation of the associated historic and cultural resources. Both parties were invited to meet in Washington on July 23, 2003. OBC declined the invitation. The County's Memorandum on Review The County submitted a ten page memorandum (not including exhibits) on de novo review. Mainly, the County takes issue with the Review Committee's characterization of elements of the County's application. The County indeed makes several good points and it is clear that on its face the County's application is probably not incomplete or in the abstract, inadequate. In fact, a different panel of reviewers might reasonably score the County's application significantly higher than did the panel in this case. For example, it is not difficult to conclude, contrary to the apparent view of the Review Committee, that the County has an adequate financial plan and an adequate management plan. Likewise, a reasonable person could find the County's use plan sufficient and adequate. All of the foregoing begs the real issue, however. The adequacy of the County's plans is not sufficient to award the lighthouse to the County. NHLPA places preservation of the historic light station first. It directs federal agencies to work with the General Services Administration and the National Park Service to choose the best stewards for long-term preservation1. The record supports the Review Committee's conclusion that OBC is the best steward for long-term preservation of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. The County's Memorandum recognizes the fundamental goal of NHLPA: The Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 clearly contemplates that the transfer is to be made to the applicant best able to maintain, preserve, protect, and promote the Station. This is without regard to whom presently has an operational history. While the statement in the second sentence quoted above is true, the Review Committee was not expected to disregard the twenty-two year operational history of OBC in determining which applicant could best preserve the lighthouse. Indeed, the Review Committee would not have fulfilled its duties under NHLPA had it ignored OBC's long involvement with the lighthouse. There is the suggestion in several places in the County's Memorandum that the County was somehow disadvantaged by having to compete against an applicant with a current operational history at the lighthouse. For example, the County asserts that it cannot reasonably be expected to address in detail a budget, when it has no history. Clearly, OBC's two decades of managing the lighthouse gives it an advantage that no other applicant was likely to overcome. That fact was a part of the risk the County took on when it decided to compete for the lighthouse. The County had observed OBC's management for twenty-two years and thus was aware of the measures OBC had undertaken at the lighthouse. The County was provided with two examples of successful applications and therefore knew what would satisfy the Review Committee. The County complains that it took to heart the statement in the application package that [t]he application should be concise and that detailed plans and specifications are not required. Under the circumstances, the County had a full and fair opportunity to compete and was simply outdone by a more experienced applicant. None of the foregoing means that the Review Committee was predisposed to favor OBC over the County, as the County and various of its supporters have implicitly and explicitly suggested.2 Again, the record demonstrates that the County was out-competed by OBC's superior experience. The Review Committee's conclusions are not clearly erroneous nor do they constitute an abuse of discretion. De Novo Review On de novo review, the reviewer is not bound by the findings made in the first instance. No deference is owed the conclusions of the initial recommender. Instead, the reviewer may substitute the reviewer's judgment for that of the original recommending body. I have examined the applications of OBC and the County, independently and without regard to the findings and recommendations of the NPS Review Committee. I have considered the applications in the same categories rated by the Review Committee: Preservation & Maintenance; Use; Financial; and Management. Preservation & Maintenance OBC’s Plan: OBC devotes a total of 227 pages to the Preservation & Maintenance portion of the application. OBC describes its 20-year history of successful preservation and restoration of the lighthouse and associated properties. OBC has engaged leading experts as its consultants and contractors with respect to maintenance, restoration and preservation activities. OBC has a well-considered plan and budget for future maintenance activities. On the other hand, periodic Coast Guard inspections, documented in reports submitted by OBC with its application, have noted deficiencies in various aspects of lighthouse maintenance over the years. The Coast Guard appears to consider the deficiencies as “minor.” Coast Guard reports include numerous comments such as “Presents good overall appearance,” “well-maintained,” “they are doing a great job at maintaining the lighthouse,” and “The OBC has done an excellent job restoring the light.” One Coast Guard inspector commented in 1992, “It appears that this is one instance where leasing a light is working.” In July, 2003, the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, visited the lighthouse and praised OBC’s maintenance and management. The County’s Plan: The County’s description of its proposed Preservation & Maintenance activities takes up just under two pages and contains nothing more than general statements. In its memorandum on review, the County elaborates on its plans, noting that it has been in contact with experts from various academic institutions to assist with the project. Reasonable persons could differ over the adequacy of the County’s plan for Preservation & Maintenance; assuming, however, that it is adequate, the fact remains that it is not comparatively the best plan. That distinction clearly belongs to OBC. Use OBC and the County have remarkably similar visions for the use of the lighthouse. Both recognize the historic and cultural links between the lighthouse and other significant features in the village of Corolla and around the Outer Banks. Each owns interests in adjacent or nearby property. Each professes a desire to integrate the lighthouse and the other features such as the Whalehead Club into a unitary visitor experience. OBC perhaps has a slight edge in this category because it has partnered with the State of North Carolina and because of its long experience in making historic and cultural resources available to the public. Financial Plan OBC’s Plan: OBC is an entity described under section 50l(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, OBC is required to file annual tax returns (IRS Form 990). Its application for the lighthouse includes 990's for several years. The latest, for tax year 2000-2001, shows revenues of $597,881 and expenses of $493,175. OBC’s fund balance at the end of the fiscal year was $449,596. OBC charges an admission fee of $6.00 to the lighthouse and the surrounding grounds3, 4 . Additionally, it sells items in a museum shop and takes donations, both on-site and otherwise. It has a prudent investment portfolio. OBC has shown steady financial growth over the years as lighthouse visitation has increased fivefold in a decade. As a result, OBC has raised over $4 million in private funds for maintenance of the lighthouse. Only about 3%-6% of OBC’s expenses appear to be administrative, while 48% (excluding salaries) goes directly into operations. OBC has provided what appear to be reasonably prudent budget projections through 2007. The County’ s Plan: The County provided a financial statement for 2001-2002 which shows revenues of $25,665,374 and expenses of $22,757,706. With a beginning fund balance of $12,749,130, the County ended the year with a surplus of $14,310,794. Currituck claims to be the “wealthiest county in North Carolina.” The County says that this year it has an “unrestricted fund balance” of $35,000,000. The County’s plan for the lighthouse calls for operating it through the Whalehead Preservation Trust. An audited financial statement for 2002 for the Trust was provided. The County would charge a single admission fee to “Currituck Heritage Park,” which would include the Whalehead Club, the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, and the lighthouse. Five dollars of the proposed $17.00 fee would be allocated to the lighthouse. Additionally, the County would raise revenues from sales at a retail shop at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, which the County estimates would yield $10,000 the first year in lighthouse-related revenue. The County also counts on annual memberships in the “Friends of Currituck Heritage Park,” to yield $2,000 the first year in lighthouse revenues. Finally, the County says that additional revenues will be raised through investment earnings, private contributions, special event receipts, vending sales, and “other secondary sources.” The County projects $2,000 in revenue from this “miscellaneous income.” The County refers to two other potential revenue sources that might be utilized. First, the County suggests the creation of a “cultural heritage and historic preservation endowment.” No such thing presently exists. This endowment, if created, would “provide individual, corporate and estate planning contribution options” to interested parties. Second, the County suggests that an additional 1% occupancy tax would yield more than $1,000,000 for Currituck Heritage Park. The County apparently has authority to levy a 3% occupancy tax for the benefit of the Whalehead Club. The County’s lighthouse application states that the Board of Commissioners intends to seek a “minor modification” to the enabling legislation to allow the funds to be dedicated to Currituck Heritage Park. The County’s projected budgets for the lighthouse through 2008 anticipate revenues and expenses substantially less than the projected budgets of OBC. The County’s financial plan suffers from the following problems:
On the other hand, OBC’s budgets are based on real experience managing the lighthouse. Again, OBC is the best qualified applicant to provide for the long-term preservation of the lighthouse. Management Plan OBC: As noted, OBC is a non-profit organized for charitable purposes. It has a track record of over twenty years of community service. It has an experienced board of directors and a dedicated staff. The public record reveals it to be an exceptionally well-managed organization with outstanding experience managing historic and cultural resources. The County: As noted, the County plans to manage the lighthouse through the Whalehead Preservation Trust. The Trust has a well-qualified board of directors, all of whom individually have extensive experience in public, private, and community-based organizations. However, compared to OBC, the Trust’s board is lacking the unified, long-term experience as a team with respect to the management of historic lighthouses. Furthermore, while OBC is focused on historic preservation, the County seems to be concerned primarily with “public” ownership of the lighthouse. Given the standards that must be applied in selecting an appropriate transferee for the lighthouse, OBC has the advantage in this category as well. Other Issues The County has raised a late issue that should be addressed briefly here. The County believes that a transfer of the lighthouse property from federal ownership to a non-profit would trigger application of the county Unified Development Ordinance. The County seems to suggest that the issues relating to the application of that ordinance must be resolved in this NHLPA process. Whether a particular local land use ordinance applies in this case is purely a matter for local resolution and is beyond the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior to adjudicate. The sole issue here is which applicant is best suited to provide for the preservation of the lighthouse in accordance with the NHLPA. Local ordinances and permits, to the extent that they do not implicate or conflict with the NHLPA, are to be dealt with between the successful applicant and the appropriate local government. Summary The standard to be applied is the “best stewardship” standard; that is, on the record, which applicant appears best able to provide for the preservation of the lighthouse. No other consideration is relevant. The record shows as follows:
Conclusion Both of these applicants bring unique perspectives to the potential ownership of the lighthouse. Both claim the lighthouse as part of their heritage. Both have similar visions of a greater cultural site integrating the lighthouse. For those reasons, this transfer presented a special opportunity for cooperation for the benefit of the Corolla community and all who have an interest in the history and culture of the Outer Banks. Sadly, this opportunity may have been missed. However, although the Department of the Interior now decides the successful applicant, one can hope that the community will put the divisiveness of this matter aside and begin to consult, cooperate, and communicate, all in the service of Currituck. As important as the community interest is, it must be emphasized that the NHLPA is about the preservation of national treasures. The successful applicant is a steward not just for its own community, but for all of America. For the reasons herein stated, I find Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc., to be the applicant best able to provide for the preservation and maintenance of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. The application of Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc., for transfer of the lighthouse pursuant to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 is approved and shall be forwarded to the Administrator of General Services forthwith. This constitutes the final agency decision of the Secretary of the Interior.
By:_______________________ Date:____________
Craig Manson
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks
United States Department of the Interior
1. Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, quoted in press release announcing first transfers under NHLPA, Secretary Norton Announces First Lighthouses Selected Under National Preservation Program, U.S. Dept of Interior, June 10, 2002, available at http://www.doi.gov/news/020610c.html
2. Indeed, no credible evidence of such alleged predisposition has been produced.
3. Three dollars is the admission fee to the lighthouse itself. The other $3.00 is a requested donation to OBC which is dedicated to the other preservation and conservation efforts of OBC in the area such as the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. A single collection point is used for these fees, although accounting is separate. The Coast Guard has approved this arrangement.
4. In comparison, the National Park Service charges $5.00 for admission to the compound of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The County proposes a $17.00 single ticket to “Currituck Heritage Park,” of which $5.00 would be allocated to the lighthouse.
5. North Carolina has a projected state budget deficit of $650 million. American Legislative Exchange Council and National Association of State Budget Offices (chart available at http://www.alec.org/meSWFiles/pdf/Deficits.pdf.
Secretary Norton Announces First LIghthouses Selected Under National Preservation Program
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